Amgen on Monday launched direct-to-consumer U.S. sales of its cholesterol medication Repatha at a discounted cash price, becoming the latest pharmaceutical company responding to U.S. political pressure to lower drug prices.
The injected drug, with sales of $2.2 billion last year, will have a monthly price of $239, or nearly 60% below its current U.S. list price, the company said. It said the price matches the lowest it now receives in any economically developed country.
Amgen was one of 17 major drug companies that received a letter from President Donald Trump in July demanding they charge U.S. patients the same price as people in other high-income countries, create direct-to-consumer channels and increase investment in the U.S. Trump threatened to impose 100% tariffs on branded drugs.
In response, Pfizer last week agreed to reduce prescription drug prices for Medicaid, which covers low-income people, to match lower prices overseas and said it would launch direct-to-consumer sales of a handful of its drugs.
Pfizer also said it would offer most-favored-nation pricing on new drugs launched in the U.S., and Trump flagged that other drugmakers would follow suit.
The Trump administration said it plans to launch, likely early next year, a website called TrumpRx that will help consumers search for a drug to see if they can buy it directly from its manufacturer. Amgen said its portal will be accessible through TrumpRx.
